Entertainment

Best of 2007: Top 7 Tech News Stories

The 2007 is near its end, and, boy, has it been one hell of a ride. Baby Jesus phone was delivered unto the world, the RIAA is one step closer to its demise, and a lot of companies announced their APIs, which normal people shouldn't really care about but us techies stuffed it down their throats like it's the most important thing ever. It's time to look back and see which stories really made an impact on the tech world in the past year. They're in alphabetical order - there's no way you could determine a numerical order to these.

Android - Just like Apple with its iPhone, Google managed to keep everyone in the dark about the mythical Google phone until the very last minute. In the end, it turned out to be more than a phone: it's a platform that will power many different cell phones. With criticism against the current dominant platforms - Windows Mobile and Symbian - going stronger, and Google's strong backing of Android, it might just turn out to be a success. We'll have to wait for the epilogue of this story until next year, because that's when the first Android-powered phones will show up on the market.

Facebook and the Beacon debacle - Perhaps "debacle" is too strong a word, but as Adam Ostrow points out in the linked article, those of us that were down in the trenches during the whole saga certainly saw it differently. Beacon was horribly flawed from the outset, and if Facebook had deemed to talk to people outside their own walls, they probably would have learned this before launching it. The apology from Mark came late, but, as they say, better late than never.

Facebook launches its platform - The rumors had circulated for ages, but to see it come to fruition was a whole different beast. Could any one have foreseen the impact it would have on social networking, let alone Facebook itself? Everyone scrambled to release apps, and the other networks worked quickly to come up with their own platforms, with the majority finally agreeing on a unified effort.

Google prepares to bid on 700 MHz wireless band - With Google having their fingers in 10,000 pies, it's difficult to pinpoint just one thing they have done this year that is heads above the rest. The fact they are jumping in to this wireless auction for the 700 MHz band just makes you sit back and say, "What do you have up your sleeve that you aren't telling us?" Yes, they want open-access if the auction reaches the $4.6 billion level, but that is only for a percentage of the band. What do they have planned for the rest?

iPhone - Could you possibly discuss 2007 without mentioning the gadget to end all other gadgets? The rumors had circulated for years that it would be coming, but I'm not sure anyone quite expected what we ended up with. For all of its shortcomings (3G, Steve... 3G), there is no denying this little device has probably changed the way we'll look at cell phones in the future. Whether it be marketing, design, launch, just about any factor you can think of, companies are going to look back at the iPhone for years to come.

Joost - It was the advent of online television, and it was the biggest demand for invites since the early days of Gmail. Joost ruffled some feathers and showed that it's possible to deliver quality TV program to your home using P2P technology, for free. Joost has a great UI, and a lot of content, but it's never enough for the TV-junkies out there, so the revolution hasn't exactly happened yet. Still, it was definitely one of the best new products that came out in 2007 (technically, the predecessor to Joost, called the Venice Project, was out late in 2006, but the first private beta invites were out in 2007).

Radiohead strikes out on their own - The RIAA is going down. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but it's happening. The top story related to this was Radiohead leaving their record company to release their latest album, In Rainbows. Their willingness to blaze a trail has led many other artists, including the likes of Trent Reznor, to say they are done with the status quo, and they are going to follow this new trend. Perhaps in a year or two this will be the dominant way to distribute music, and RIAA's shenanigans will merely be an afterthought.

Mashable
is a global, multi-platform media and entertainment company. Powered by its own proprietary technology, Mashable is the go-to source for tech, digital culture and entertainment content for its dedicated and influential audience around the globe.